386 THE CAROLINA PARROT. 



nor so wary as the preceding species. Taking advantage of the labors of mankind, it makes 

 raids on the maize and corn fields, and does very great damage in a very short time, for its 

 appetite is voracious, and its beak powerful. Like most birds of similar character, it never 

 ventures upon one of these predatory excursions without placing a sentinel on some elevated 

 post where he can see the whole of the surrounding country, and give the alarm to his com- 

 rades whenever he fears the approach of danger. So great is the destruction wrought by these 

 birds, that the agriculturists are forced to protect their property by keeping a watch day and 

 night over their corn-fields, from the time when the grain begins to ripen to the day when it is 

 cut and carried. 



During the rainy season these Macaws leave the country, and do not return until January 

 or February. 



The plumage of the Blue and Yellow Macaw is rather roughly set on the body, and is 

 thus colored : The forehead is green, and the whole of the upper surface ; the wings and tail 

 are bright, rich blue of a verditer cast. The cheeks are white and nearly naked, and below the 

 eye are three delicate semilunar streaks of black. Below the chin is a broad, black band, 

 which sweeps round towards the ears, and runs round nearly the whole of the white space. 

 The throat, head, and abdomen are rich, golden yellow, and the under surfaces of the wings 

 and tail are also yellow, but of a more ochreous cast. The bill is deep black, the eye yellowish- 

 white, and the legs and feet blackish-gray. 



The entire length of this bird is about forty inches, of which the tail alone occupies nearly 

 two feet. It is not, however, the largest species of Macaw, as the Red and Blue Macaw equals 

 it in size. 



ANOTHER species of Macaw is found in the more northern portions of America, though 

 it is popularly called a Parrot, and not a Macaw. This is the well-known CAROLINA 

 PARROT, of which so much has been written by Wilson, Audubon, and other American orni- 

 thologists. 



This bird is much more hardy than the generality of the Parrot tribe, and has been noticed 

 by Wilson in the month of February flying along the banks of the Ohio in the midst of a snow 

 storm, and in full cry. It inhabits, according to Wilson, "the interior of Louisiana, and the 

 shores of Mississippi and Ohio and their tributary waters, even beyond the Illinois river, to 

 the neighborhood of Lake Michigan in latitude 42 N., and contrary to the generally received 

 opinion, is chiefly resident in all these places. Eastward, however, of the great range of the 

 Alleghany, it is seldom seen farther north than the State of Maryland ; though straggling 

 parties have been occasionally observed among the valleys of the Juniata, and according to 

 some, even twenty-five miles to the northwest of Albany, in the State of New York." These 

 accidental visits are, however, rightly regarded by our author as of little value. 



The Carolina Parrot is chiefly found in those parts of the country which abound most in 

 rich alluvial soils, on which grow the cockle-burs, so dear to the Parrot and so hated by the 

 farmer. In the destruction of this plant the Carolina Parrot does good service to the sheep- 

 owner, for the prickly fruit is apt to come off upon the wool of the sheep, and in some places 

 so abundantly as to cover it with one dense mass of burs, through which the wool is hardly 

 perceptible. The prickly hooks of the burs also break away from the fruit, and intermingle 

 themselves so thoroughly with the fleece that it is often rendered worthless, the trouble of 

 cleansing it costing more than the value of the wool. 



Besides the cockle-burs, the beech-nut and the seeds of the cypress and other trees are 

 favorite food of the Carolina Parrot, which is said to eat apples, but probably only bites 

 them off their stems for wantonness, as it drops them to the ground and there lets them lie 

 undisturbed. 



An idea was and may be still prevalent in its native country, that the brains and intestines 

 of the Carolina Parrot were fatal to cats ; and Wilson, after some trouble, succeeded in getting 

 a cat and her kittens to feed upon this supposed poisonous diet. The three ate everything 

 excepting the hard bill, and were none the worse for their meal. As, however, the Parrot was in 

 this case a tame one, and had been fed upon Indian corn, he conjectured that the wild Parrot 



